Food hall planned for southeast Rochester
When Libby’s and Seneca Foods were in their heyday of canning foods in southeast Rochester, they needed a workshop to tinker with machines and vehicles. For over 50 years, a building on the corner of 13th Street and 3rd Avenue Southeast, right across from the main plant, served that purpose until Seneca started to slow down operations in the latter half of the 2010s.
Years of dormancy are near their end, though, as a new Workshop gears up to energize the space in 2020.
Andy and Kari Friederichs, owners of Resident Property Management, plan to bring a new concept to Rochester with Workshop Food Hall & Bar, slated for a grand opening this fall. Kari said the space will house a handful of local “food partners” in the main space, with about 15 percent of the space reserved for a barbershop — appropriately named “Workshop Barbers.”
The couple has 12 years of experience running a barbershop, and the food hall vision stemmed from a desire to reignite that passion. Andy said he had his eyes on the old Seneca workshop building for years.
“Six years ago, when I started eyeballing this thing up, I said ‘I want to own that. I want to have a barbershop there, and fill the rest of it with greatness.’ I didn’t know what I was going to do with the rest of it,” said Andy. “I reached out to the people at Seneca and said ‘hey, I’m Andy Friederichs, I’d like to buy your property across the street from the plant.’”
The Friederichs’ waited 12 months with no response… until suddenly, Seneca came calling.
“A year later, they reached out to me. With every other property, I’m pretty persistent, but this one was just about throwing it out there and seeing what happens. Miraculously, Seneca goes ‘hey, seeing if you’re still interested’… so we negotiated, and we bought it,” said Andy.
For those not familiar with the concept, think of a food hall as a collection of restaurants and food providers under one roof, with an emphasis on local providers and community engagement. Food halls are marketed as a destination on their own, without major retailers in the same space like a mall food court. There are several examples scattered across the region, including Chicago’s Revival Food Hall and St. Paul’s Keg and Case Market.
(For more on what constitutes a food hall, go here.)
“We’re going to be creating a space with a warm environment — that’s our intention,” said Kari. “The food partners we move forward with, they’re not going to be found in your typical mall food court. It’s not a corporate structure; it’s going to be people’s passions.”
“It’s more personal,” added Andy. “Our goal would be that everybody feels better leaving than when they walked in.”
The Friedrichs said they are not ready to announce any food vendors yet, but they are in talks with several local vendors. Once the space is ready, Kari said to expect some of the best food the region has to offer — and that won’t be the only draw.
“Food is just one of the elements. Getting together over a meal and engaging with people is part of it,” said Kari. “We’ll also have places tucked away if you want to hide out a little, too — but if you want to get to know people, this is the place.”
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
Cover graphic courtesy CRW architecture + design group
